Saturday, July 17, 2010

HP Pavilion Elite HPE-235f ReviewChip maker AMD has recently attempted to simplify the PC-buying process with its Vision branding scheme. The basic idea: Classify AMD-based computers according to different tiers, such as Vision, Vision Premium, and Vision Ultimate, with in-store (and online) descriptors of what you should expect to be able to do with a given PC, depending on what tier it falls into. It's a nice enough idea in theory, but if you're trying to keep the average consumer from being confused, the Ultimate label should probably actually offer the top level of performance available. Instead, for HD-video-editing-enthusiasts and very demanding gamers, AMD added the Vision Black label, which, oddly, offers better performance and features than you'll find in a machine with the Vision Ultimate label. So, as far as simplifying the PC-buying experience goes, Vision feels a bit like two steps forward and one step back...